MY JOURNAL

Seoul Grand Hyatt Weddings are elegant and romantic which exactly the theme for this destination wedding for Antoine and Celine.

Jay and Kaley were about to leave Korea to start a new adventure in Turkey but didn’t want to leave without having their wedding pictures done. Kaley wanted outdoor greenery but also she wanted to make sure there was a Korean element in their photos to honour her husband’s heritage. We decided on the beautiful Pungamjae in Gwangju, Jeollanamdo for their prenup shoot. We had a wonderful afternoon together dipping our toes in the water to cool off every so often and documenting the soft, loving connection Kaley and Jay have with each other.

Bernard and Anne-Marie love spending time in beautiful coffee shops, which luckily are around every corner here in Korea. So we decided to head to one of their favourite coffee shops for their maternity shoot. The day before, Anne-Marie said to me “Imagine it snows!” and surely enough they were blessed with beautiful morning light and some snow!

It was the first pre-wedding photoshoot I had done since the start of the pandemic. I was beyond excited to pick up my camera again but also a bit nervous as I hadn’t shot for almost a year. This artist power couple chose the place where they first met to have their pre-wedding shoot. Gang-ha is a hanok restorer and Julia is a French artist that currently designs modern jewelry using traditional Korean patterns. It was only natural that we planned a beautiful hanbok pre-wedding in the warm autumn sun. I absolutely love working with creators, especially when they share my love for Korean tradition.

Before lockdown, my brother and I never really had a close relationship. By nature he is shy and relatively quiet plus he has typical teenage boy interests; like PlayStation games, phone games and cricket. We had nothing in common to connect us like my sister and I have. This has always bothered me because I often worried that he may have had the perception that I love Megan more, or that I had no interest in being part of his life. This was one of the main reasons I brought my family over to Korea last year and during their trip I learned a lot more about his personality and how very funny he is, but we didn’t kindle a connection yet.

On March 13th I flew to South Africa for a long overdue visit. I hadn’t seen friends for over three years, I missed the African sun, I was set to attend a Jacki Bruniquel workshop that I had wanted to attend for years and I really needed a break. However I was not ready for the announcement of a hard lockdown for 21 days. It was scheduled to start on March 26, 4 days before I was going to leave.

One day we were driving past a field of horses and a tiny voice said “I want to ride horses Mommy”. My little sister was in the back dreaming big dreams already. She fell in love with horses at a very young age and we all thought it was just a phase. The phase most little girls go through. But for Megan her love for horses only grew stronger.

Patrick and Rira live and work in South Korea’s cosmopolitan capital, Seoul. They love the diversity of cultures and food Pyeongtaek (the area where they live) has to offer. Visiting different restaurants and sharing their favourite ice cream are just a couple of things they enjoy doing together.

The couple’s friends and family are quite diverse too. Pat’s mom flew in from the US and most of his friends who attended the wedding, are US military soldiers stationed in Seoul. Rira had friends fly in from Sydney, Australia too.

Wilson and Younglee have been living in Gwangju for a while, a city they both hold dear, and a city that has embraced them with its delightful food, peaceful suburban life and wonderful city (outskirts) nature.

They both have many things in common like hiking, traveling, taking on short adventures and are especially fond of the fall season, as the days become shorter, the air is crisp and the leaves shed from the maple trees. This was one of the main reasons why they decided to hold their wedding at the most beautiful time of the year according to Younglee.

I’m always excited to photograph a wedding, every occasion brings a lot of happiness, expectations and emotions into my life. Although I do love all of them, I have to admit that I have some favorites.  This year I photographed the wedding of someone who had had a profound impact on my life. There wasn’t a way I could repay him for how much he helped me and no words could convey my gratitude.  Since I’m not good with words, photography was a language I knew could channel and express my vast thankfulness.